Iranian Scientist Wins UNESCO Biology Award

An Iranian researcher and scientist of the country's Royan Institute won the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)-Equatorial Guinea International Prize for the first time in the history. Professor Hossein Baharavand from the Stem Cell Research Center of Royan Institute was qualified to win the 2014-2015 UNESCO-Equatorial Guinea International Prize.

This is the first time an Iranian researcher is qualified to receive this award.

On May 4, 2014 the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization called for nominations for the UNESCO-Equatorial Guinea International Prize for Research in Life Sciences.

UNESCO-Equatorial prize is awarded to those projects and activities of an individual, individuals, institutions, other entities or non-governmental organizations for scientific research in life sciences, which have led to improving the quality of human life.

Three scientists are prizewinners at maximum who are selected by the Director-General of UNESCO on the basis of the assessments and recommendations made to her by an international jury.

Hossein Baharvand is an Iranian stem cell and developmental biologist and director of Iran's Royan Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Technology.

Hossein Baharvand was born in 1972 and obtained his PhD degree in 2004 in the field of Developmental Biology from Khwarizmi University (formerly Tarbiat Moallem University), Tehran, Iran.

He began work at the Royan Institute in Tehran from 1996. He is currently full professor and head of Department of Stem Cells and Developmental Biology at Royan institute for Stem Cell Biology and Technology.

Moreover, Baharvand is the head of department of Developmental Biology at University of Science and Culture in Tehran.

He and his colleagues have established several human embryonic stem cell lines since 2003 and later human induced pluripotent stem cells. This has enabled them to pursue many avenues of research into methods of generating therapeutic cells from stem cells and made them the pioneer in stem cell research throughout the Middle East.

Professor Baharvand has published more than 150 peer-review papers in national and international journals, as well as 4 international books and 9 books in Persian. He is editor of Trends in Stem Cell Biology and Technology book. He is an editorial board member of five international journals. He has won 11 national and international awards and presented as invited speaker in several meetings.